"Don't Lose it, Reuse it!" Rocky

This morning Ruby and I spent time going through our closets removing any items that either don’t fit or have not been used recently. It’s funny how there’s a big hype to clean out your closets in the spring for “spring cleaning,” however in my opinion, discarding unwanted or unnecessary items is best done right before the holidays. Why? Because if your children are anything like mine, they will most likely receive way too many presents from Santa. And let’s be honest, there’s only so much room in their closets before they begin to overflow. When this happens, my clutter anxiety levels go up.

In contrast to that, my closet is a different story. My closet is a time capsule of items I’ve collected over the years. Some of my items are no longer for wearing, but for remembering. It’s a little trickier to remove items if you know what I mean. As I was going through my closet, I looked at a pair of shoes I actually wore recently. I did not consider discarding them because they were unused, but because they were overused. I had purchased these shoes before I had my oldest son and he’s nearly nine. So, in shoe years they were basically ancient. The scuffs on them reveal a life well-traveled. I went to many places in those shoes. “They look so raggedy,” I thought. I then, without hesitation, threw them in the trash. Did I mention, I love throwing away things? Seeing a well-organized closet brings me so much satisfaction!

Later that day, my toddler, Ruby asked if we could paint. Walking into the pantry to retrieve her supplies, I saw my discarded shoes laying on top of the garbage pile. “What if we could bring these shoes back to life?” I asked inwardly. I grabbed the pair and returned to my daughter in the kitchen. “Ruby, would you like to paint my shoes? You can design them any way you’d like.” I said this with both excitement and anticipation. A big grin spread over her face, and she said, “yes” in delight. Because I was hoping to wear the shoes again in public, I selected her color pallet from our acrylic paint – copper, brown, black, and white. She quickly went to work. As she painted, I did my best not to interrupt her. The quote by Pablo Picasso came to mind.

“Every Child is an artist; the problem is staying an artist when you grow up.” Pablo Picasso

I let her continue in the direction she wanted to go. Before long, she announced she was done. “Oh wow, Ruby! This looks amazing,” I exclaimed. Her little face beamed with pride. As the shoes dried on the counter, I couldn’t help but think to myself the importance of seeing things from a different perspective. Rather than making a quick judgement about something ask yourself if there is a different perspective, a different use, a different way of seeing and understanding something. As we age, we have experiences that shape our learning and worldview, but just because something was done one way doesn’t mean it cannot be modified the next time.

What areas of your life can be reimagined? Are you feeling stuck in your current space? Begin by looking at your “closet.” Start unpacking the items that have been stored away. Do they bring back positive memories? How does this item make you feel? If the item brings you any sense of happiness or joy think of ways to bring it back to life. Put on your Picasso hat and paint so to speak!

Below is helpful information on reducing, reusing, and recycling from my new favorite book- Zero Waste Kids by Rob Greenfield. In the section, declutter and donate the author writes the following: “Reduce what you own and keep only what you use and love. Decluttering unwanted items and donating them to an organization serves others. And by removing the excess, you reduce the time you spend cleaning your room each day! When you own less, you take better care of the items you have and you consume less of the Earth’s resources.” Below is a helpful decluttering process from the book.

Procedure:

Set up 3 large boxes in your room for keep, donate, and toss.
Pick 1 type of item to declutter in your room. Set each item that fits that category on the floor.
Go through the pile 1 item at a time, deciding if you want to keep it, donate it, or toss it. Sort it into the appropriate box. Donate what can be donated.
Once you have sorted through every item in your pile, bring the toss box to your recycling, trash, and compost bins. Sort each item into the correct bin.
Put all the items in your keep box back where they belong in your room.
Put the donate box in a place where it can be brought to a person or organization that will use the items. The car trunk and by the front door are both great places to help you remember to bring it the next time you leave home.

After we cleaned up our shoe design fun, Ruby and I made our way to the Center of Science and Industry (Cosi). They currently have featured- PAW Patrol Adventure Play. This interactive exhibit is running until January 12th, 2025, and is located on the second floor. The immersive experience encourages visitors to take part in daring rescue missions in Adventure Bay. Ruby loved seeing all the PAW Patrol Pups and couldn’t get enough of the hands-on interactive play available to her. On our way home she said, “that was so fun mom!”